Later this morning, i will drive just under two hours to a studio apartment by the mountains outside Flagstaff, Arizona.

i will not go via Interstate 17, which the map directions say is the fastest route. But Sybil Kuny, one of the greatest cooks and nicest people the world has ever known, advised me US 89 to I-40 would be easier and faster. She and Lance Cook, Maureen’s cousin, hosted us in their beautiful home in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona last night (Maureen will stay here for a couple of days before returning home.

i will be driving on to somewhere in my life.

Getting to somewhere has been a great trip. i opted to play my usual Friday golf round, planning to leave immediately, get a quick nap, and leaving home just after midday to miss the commute traffic. But Al Pavich was waiting at the nineteenth hole. Al is on the rebound from from some health problems. He, Pete Toennies, and i go way back to the staff of Commander, Amphibious Squadron Five and one of the craziest “WESTPAC” deployments ever. On the next deployment, Al and shared a stateroom on the USS Belleau Wood. We have remained friends ever since. He is a hero.

So i stayed longer than intended, and Maureen and i hit the road almost two hours later than planned and into the teeth of the commuter traffic on I-15. It was brutal. From Escondido to Temecula, a half-hour trip normally, took way more than two hours. My little Mazda 3 rarely got out of first or second gear. When we arrived in La Quinta, it was almost seven.

It was worth it. Dr. Frank Kerrigan’s retirement party was Saturday night. Frank was the doctor on my last ship, the USS Yosemite. We were mutual support partners on our eight month deployment to the Indian Ocean and pursued our mutual love of golf together. We’ve been close friends ever since. Saturday, we played a round at The Hideaway course. That evening we attended the retirement party. It was a blast. (i will have another post about Frank later).

But now, i’m headed to somewhere. When i get back home from Flagstaff in two weeks, i will not only know where i’ve been, i will know where i’m going, which is the intent of this trip. To know where i am going.

From tomorrow until Sunday, June 25, this site and Facebook will be shut down. i have some things to do somewhere. My phone calls will be limited. i do not plan to turn on the television, dine out, or do much of anything except write, read, walk or run in the woods, and meditate. You see, i plan to be doing a lot of something somewhere, just not the usual stuff i do.

This morning, i read an item in “The Writer’s Almanac” about Leo Tolstoy. On this date, Tolstoy began his pilgrimage to a monastery. He had found God when he took a walk in the woods. Well, i think god and i are good and i don’t expect to find him, but i am hoping to find me.

It will be nice to get to somewhere.